Crimson Tears
by Tee2007
Summary: This is an AU story. Set during CH 10 of New Moon. What if Jacob and the pack hadn't gotten to Bella in time? Will Jacob still be able to save her? Chapter 2 now up! Bella hunts in an unusual way and is Victoria coming for her? Will Alice find her?
1. Prologue

Author's Note: This is an AU story. Chapter 10 of New Moon was pivotal point in the story for me. The pain of losing Edward was magnified by the clear and present danger to Bella's life when she was almost murdered by Laurent. In this story I would like to explore what happens to these characters if Jacob and his pack hadn't made it in time to save Bella. I am putting up this short Prologue to gage the interest in this story. If you like it, I will continue. Thanks for reading!

I wouldn't be able to write without my dear Beta's: MarcyJ and Unicorn Goddess (who are both in my profile, by the way). Without their constant support and encouragement I wouldn't be here. I love you both!

**Disclaimer: All the characters appearing in Crimson Tears are copyright Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and all original characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No financial gain is being made by this work. Quotes taken directly from Stephenie Meyer's work are in italics. No copyright infringement is intended by the use of these quotes**.

PROLOGUE

_I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringed away, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed distantly in the back of my head. His name burst through all the walls I'd built to contain it. 'Edward, Edward, Edward.' I was going to die. It shouldn't matter if I thought of him now. 'Edward I love you.'_

Laurent was at my side in an instant. His sinister pitch black eyes bore into my head. Slowly his eyes traveled down to the pale skin of my neck, and his eyes took on a frenzied panic. I only hoped the uncontrollable thirst would make this a quick death.

"Bella," He inhaled deeply, "you smell absolutely divine. And lucky for you, that will only make this quicker." With those final fatal words, he sunk his teeth into the tender flesh of my neck and drank with wild abandon.

A searing heat accompanied the pain of his teeth piercing my neck, as if tiny daggers had skewered me.

As the instinct to flee kicked in, I thrashed violently against Laurent's arms. The expenditure of energy was futile, as there was no escaping his iron strength in my coming demise.

At least, in my final moments I could feel close to Edward. All these months I had felt lost in the world, fearing that I had some how imagined the beautiful being who had stolen my heart. But in the final act of my life, I was proved wrong. And in some sick and twisted way, dying in the arms of a vampire brought me peace.

Laurent continued to slurp and suckle at my neck and the intense pressure of the blood being sucked from my body made my head swim. I held on to him for dear life, the cold and steely strength of his body so reminiscent of the one I longed for. My body quickly went limp in Laurent's arms, and I started to feel my consciousness wane.

I dreamed of Edward and I in this very meadow, which was now to be my gravesite. In my mind, it was as beautiful as it was that afternoon last spring when we had first professed our love for each other. In my mind I imagined lying here next to him, curled up in his embrace as his cool sweet breath caressed my cheek and his words contracted my heart.

If this was what dying was like, this wasn't so bad. And just as quickly as I had fallen into my paradise, I was brought back to reality with a burning pain coursing swiftly down my torso. I was lying on the ground in the meadow that I had so desperately tried to find, but Laurent was no longer hovering over me, sucking the life giving blood from my body. My eyelids were heavy, and I was struggling to open them fully so that my eyes could focus on my surroundings.

Through my clouded vision I made out the blurry outline of four or five large animals. As the pain pounded and burned my body, I felt myself losing all consciousness. As I started to slip I heard a faint, but vicious, growling that made me cringe painfully into unconsciousness. If I had been afraid of death at the hands of a vampire, there would be nothing compared to the type of torture I would endure at the mercy of these wild animals. I prayed for oblivion in my final moment, and was momentarily granted sweet ignorance as my angel appeared before my eyes again.


	2. Beat

Author's Note: This chapter was by far my worst writing. My beta's had a heck of a time and in the end I hope that I have made them proud, and they aren't too embarrassed to say that they edited this piece! I bow to the greatness of Unicorn Goddess, Marcy, and Midnight Walking – what would I do without you guys? Special thank you to Wendi and her husband…duffle bags!

**Disclaimer: All the characters appearing in Crimson Tears are copyright Stephenie Meyer and they are not used with permission. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and all original characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No financial gain is being made by this work. **

I was curled up, hugging my knees to my chest hidden in the dark recesses of my home. I had spent most of my time just like this, curled up into myself staring blankly at the black abyss. My home was a hidden cave located somewhere in the jagged rock face of the cliffs at La Push. It was here that Jacob had brought me so many months ago and here where I exiled myself.

I was free to leave now; it wasn't like before when I was forced to stay, but now other stronger, primal instincts held me in captivity. As I remembered those early weeks, I shuddered involuntarily. I replayed the events of that day, two months ago, when I had ventured on my own to find the meadow. It was there that everything had ended and so much had begun.

I remembered struggling with the pain in my chest, that place in my heart where Edward resided, and the resulting hole that had me doubled over catching my breath more times than not. That day had been no different. Knowing I was alone in my search, I had surrendered to my feelings, if only a little, and I had pushed on with a determination to find the one place on earth that reminded me that Edward had once indeed felt for me the same way I felt for him.

Lost in my daydreams I hadn't realized when my eyes caught sight of the soft swaying grass of the perfect circular patch that I stood in the same spot Edward had stood so many months ago. The place had an eerie quality that day, almost as if the birds and animals knew what was to come and had traveled far from the epicenter of danger. I was a fool to have gone by myself; it certainly was a mistake in my judgment. But my judgment had been impaired well before that day.

I had never reacted like others of my former kind, as Edward had informed me so many times before. Why would I have reacted any differently then? If it had been Jessica who had been brokenhearted by her vampire boyfriend, she would have never ventured out alone while the threat of being attached by a savage bear was so prominent. She would have immediately realized the fatal danger she was in at the sight of Laurent, I, however, didn't. I had often tried to imagine things turning out differently. If only I had run, or if I had screamed, maybe they would have come sooner.

In the end, I had attempted to lie my way out the situation and I had failed. Things hadn't turned out the way my delusional Edward had so desperately hoped. Instead, Laurent had seen right through me, and even if he had believed me, his thirst was beyond any logical reasoning, and conversely my life held no reasoning that made sense, so it was fitting. Fido had been left behind, and the good vampires had gone off looking for new and exciting adventures – now the lost and lonely puppy needed to defend itself against a very lethal animal that easily had the upper hand. Ironically logic had disappeared along with my mythological Edward.

If only they had been seconds sooner or if I had delayed Laurent a mere ten seconds more, I wouldn't be living this life of isolation and eternal cold. But this was my harsh reality and there was nothing I could do to change what had happened. I could only look to the future and hope that I would eventually discover happiness again.

I would be searching for Edward at this very instant if the tribe and Jacob's pack hadn't held me here so long. A part of my spirit was destroyed in their trials and tests of my bloodlust, Paul's vicious personal attacks, and my own negative internal dialogue. In the end, frightened of the damage I might do, or the number of humans I might kill, and the thought of disappointing Jacob had caused me to hide in fear in my little cave. The long days and nights left plenty of time to spin and weave tales of horror and destruction in my wake, causing me to believe that I was the vilest creature to ever walk this planet. My perception of what I had become was worse than what Edward believed himself to be, and I knew how hard he had struggled with the idea that he was truly a monster.

The deceptively innocent old woman had tried to rid me of my "ailment" and to "cure" me, but none of her tortures had succeeded in keeping me human. Instead they had quite possibly shattered the only essence of my humanity that remained – my heart.

Knowing that I was now like Edward, I was determined to find him and convince him that I was what he needed, but instead of searching for him, I was cowering in fear of what I was and what I would do to any human that had the unfortunate luck to cross my path. The old woman, and eventually Paul, had belittled me and poisoned me with their evil words and actions, and I, unfortunately, had believed them.

I involuntarily reached out and touched the back of my legs where the scars should have been. I didn't have any physical sign of the abuse, which she had inflicted on my helpless body, but just the memory of where the whip had lashed at me brought the pain to the forefront of my mind. I winced at the memory.

I closed my eyes to ward of the painful images, but my mind wouldn't obey and I thought back to how Jacob had saved me twice that day and just in the nick of time, as I had started to feel my life wither away. All I recalled of my rescue was Jacob carrying me back to La Push. I remembered the warm feel of his uncovered flesh as he ran with me in his arms. He had kept me from drifting off into unconsciousness with his desperate words of encouragement. He told me it was going to be okay, but he had been brutally wrong.

He had later explained how he had fought with the pack with the exception of Sam, who had been the most understanding about Jacob's unwillingness to end my life no matter how terrible he felt my existence would be once I was changed. The others had felt that the only humane thing to do was to end my life so I wouldn't have to live eternally as a bloodsucker. They had felt that that existence was worse than any death I had to endure. Jacob revealed all of this with solemn eyes, and I had experienced his pain of fighting with his 'brothers' and watching me helplessly turn into the despicable creature he so despised.

During the trip, the venom had started its slow journey through my veins. I had felt as if the fires of hell lapped against my body as wave after wave of the most excruciating pain took me under and being held against the once warm comfort of Jacob's body had only added to my impossibly horrendous situation. If I had known that the throbbing pain would be magnified tenfold, I would have enjoyed the brief comforting moments of being held by someone who cared about me.

The pack had decided that they needed to get me to the elder members of the council who would decide what to do next. Upon arriving, I was conscious enough to understand that Jacob and the pack were explaining what had happened. With that delineation, the room had erupted in a chorus of angry voices and argument. I could faintly understand that some in attendance felt it was a mistake that they had let me live this long. I heard snippets of their intense arguments with the pack, which now stood united behind Jacob, but some of the elders were keeping a safe distance from me, even as I writhed and screamed in pain on the couch that Jacob had laid me on, they were afraid of me. Did they really think that I was in any condition to attack?

I vaguely remembered being moved, and as we traveled through the forest, the cool air provided a small measure of relief to my photosphere-like body. Jacob had quietly whispered to me that he was moving me to a healer who lived out in the woods and could possibly reverse the change that had already been set into motion.

Upon arriving, the woman, whose withered old face I would never forget, greeted us at the door. She had directed Jacob to place me on an uncomfortable mat, which was spread out on the floor. While Jacob paced around the small shack, the older woman was chanting something in her native tongue and washing my body down with a cool liquid that had a rancid smell.

As the woman pulled away the bloodied clothing that seemed to be suffocating me, she told Jacob in an irritated voice to leave. I had immediately called out to him, and he had knelt by my side. He had assured me that I would be okay with the woman and that he would come back for me. He was going back out with the pack to make sure there were no other vampires who might be out looking for Laurent. In Jacob's defense, he never dreamed that the woman's idea of cure was as preposterous as trying to put out a house fire with a garden hose.

I had grabbed for his arm before he could get away, and I had managed to fully open my eyes in order to better convey my message of fear and desperation. I could only imagine the look they held because Jacobs face was torn, and I could see the indecision he was feeling.

"Bella, it's going to be okay. Whatever happens, I will never leave you." He had said with a ferocity that made it impossible to look away, his face passionate and his eyes determined. I had held on to his promise during the entire ordeal. The words had become my mantra, my mediation as I tried to find a place in my mind where the agony didn't exist.

In my mind, I imagined a hilltop where I stood with Edward by my side, snow gently floating down on both of us. Edward looked like an angel sent from heaven, and it was Edward, not Jacob, reciting those words to me in my escapist dreams. His beautiful topaz eyes were trained on my face as if I was the only being in existence and love radiated from every fiber of his body. I had held on to that image with a mindless desperation imagining that all the love I wished Edward had for me was seeping into my body, cooling and quenching the fire I had felt inside every cell of my being.

In the short time that Jacob was gone, the old woman had managed to whip every available soft piece of flesh on my backside until it was entirely covered in welts that barely oozed blood, considering the venom was hard at work, cauterizing all open cuts while setting my body aflame. It was her torturous and futile attempt to beat the demon out of me.

Every lash of her whip magnified the pain radiating from within my body. I had screamed in agony, but as we were deep in the forest, there was not a soul around to hear my pleas for mercy. In between bouts of lashings, the old woman stuffed strange herbs and concoctions down by throat, which I promptly expelled after I discovered I could still prop myself up on my weakened arms.

Throughout her tortures, there was a brief moment of repose when the woman held my weakened body under water in a trough located behind her home. I didn't try to hold my breath: instead, I inhaled the water deeply in response to a deep human instinct to relieve the barren desert I felt in my mouth. Instead of swallowing the water, I had sputtered and choked as the water filled my nostrils and lungs. Then my motive had changed, and I hoped that perhaps I could end it all right then and there in the custody of that strange and foolish native woman; praying that my final resting place was this dirty watery grave that I was being held in. I wondered now, if Jacob hadn't showed up when he did, if it would have at all been possible for me to die by drowning considering the transformation had been well under way.

Jacob had come straight from his search back to the hut and he saw immediately what the woman was doing to me, I heard a fierce growl as he lifted me out of the cold water and held me to his side. He had howled at the woman, shaking with anger and at the same time, rattling my entire body.

He had been trying to take long deep breaths to regain his composure, but he hadn't succeeded. He had laid me down roughly and ran to the edge of the forest where he morphed right in front of my eyes. I could still hear his strangled howls of anguish in my mind. I was sure he had wanted to hurt the woman, but despite his anger, Jacob had some how controlled himself, and within moments of his change, he was back in his human form, minus clothing, which had been shredded by his abrupt morph.

Then he had picked me up and carried me to the cave, the very same one I currently was calling home. Along the way, he said he had stopped only once to morph and asked the pack to meet him at the cave with supplies including clothing for him and medical supplies for me.

The pack had been waiting for us, and after Jacob had slipped into the clothing they brought him, we had all ascended the treacherous rock face; I barely held on to Jacob while the rest of the pack followed behind us ready to catch me should I slip from his back. The pain had been excruciating but nothing in comparison to the way the waves of heat and agony had flared with each strike of the vicious leather whip.

The pack were all carrying duffle bags filled with supplies and once in the cave, they had quickly and efficiently setup a makeshift treatment area. On the cold floor, they had laid an old camping foam and various blankets that I'm sure they had stolen from their homes. It was there that the rest of the transformation had taken place under Jacob's watchful eye.

That first night, the pack had done what they could to help; however, the slaves and gauze they had used to bandage all my superficial injuries proved pointless because the completed transformation healed my physical body.

The pain of the transformation was enough to bear, and I finally understood Edward's hesitance in wanting to put me through this, but to endure the physical onslaught of the woman's cure was almost more than I could survive. At points, the misery was so far beyond imagining that I felt my mind would break. Yet I had survived her barbaric cruelty only to continue the hellish journey to become a cold one.

That first night, Jacob had stayed by my side stroking my face with cold clothes and choking back his own pain at the events that had unfolded. He had held me tight to his chest and sobbed at his own inadequacies wishing that somehow things had been different. If he had gotten to me in time or if the old woman hadn't turned my soft skin into a gruesome bloodied mess I wouldn't have been in so much anguish as he sat watching helplessly.

On the following nights, I came to understand the insurmountable hatred that Jacob felt for Edward's kind and how difficult it would be for him to accept what I was becoming no matter how much he loved me. And he did love me - I experienced the depth of his feelings as the days and weeks passed. He went against nature and instinct to protect and care for me. He fought every instinct that told him to destroy me, and at times, even his pack when they faltered in their respect for Jacob's choice in protecting me.

I couldn't escape the strange and mythical quality of my life, not even in love. First it was Edward and the call of my blood, and now Jacob who was in love with his sworn enemy. Both men had the incongruous task of loving someone that they fought not to kill.

Everything was different now. We could no longer go back to our youthful innocence. Each action and thought had the possibility to set off a chain of unexpected and grave reactions. The weight of our responsibility in this world encumbered us both. Jacob had lost some of the light in his carefree existence when he had first changed into a werewolf, and even more so now, as he fought to protect his memory of what I once was.

I got up slowly, and made my way to the mouth of the cave. The air was icy and frigid against my face. I took deep cleansing breaths of the salty ocean air; it always seemed to clear my passageways and my mind. My eyes focused downwards, already anticipating the relief from my senses once I was under the dark water. The tide pounded against the hard surface of the cliff face, leaving frothy white foam in its aftermath. The cold and smooth surface of the rock was only perceptibly affected by the forceful and repetitive beating the ocean unleashed on it. I only wished that I were as impervious.


	3. Sea Food

**Author's Note: I use the word 'rip' in this chapter and it is diving terminology used to describe ****a good dive. The rip is when there is absolutely no splash when the diver hits the water, all you hear is a loud, clean sound.**

**Thank you to my betas MarcyJ and Midnight Walking.**

**Disclaimer: All the characters appearing in this work are copyright Stephenie Meyer and are not used with permission. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and all original characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No financial gain is being made by this work. **

**Sea Food**

By ECABS

I looked up at overcast sky, closed my eyes, allowed my arms to hang limply at my sides, and anticipated and longed for the relief I would feel as soon as I was beneath the scentless under world. It was a unique world down there with strange creatures and alien like landscapes.

My new vampire eyesight afforded me an otherwise clouded view of the beautiful, extraordinary creatures, the lush vegetation, and the flowing dips and curves of the sea floor. Of course I could go deeper, farther, and faster than any human or machine on the planet, and the sense of ease I felt was familiar – my feeling of awe and sense of belonging was similar to what I had felt as a child when I played make believe in my friend's tree house. We had imagined our very own kingdom where we were princesses, and I felt that exact same sense of amazement in that fantastic underwater realm – nothing could hurt me there and for once I was in control.

That watery playground relieved me of my greatest fear. Below the tumultuous raging currents of the terrestrial world, I would find temporary peace. My most deadly vampire sense simply didn't exist there. It was true that some mammals did have their olfactory sense underwater, fortunately for me, I didn't. Underwater I didn't have to fear the vicious and instinctual animal I could transform into at the scent of blood.

From my bird's eye view, I could see my lunch swimming unsuspectingly under the surface of the dark water. I rolled up on the balls of my feet and leapt gracefully, executing a flawless swan dive, something I had never experienced as a human. I luxuriated in every second of these rare carefree moments. The wind rippled my hair into a dark silken sail, and the biting wind streamed past my statuesque form. My fingertips sliced through the water, my body maintaining an Olympic perfect trajectory and creating a perfect "rip" into my dining arena. I instantly came upon the large gray animal that had precious few seconds to realize what was happening. My razor sharp teeth pierced into the soft rubbery flesh of the mammal's neck and my mouth formed a watertight seal against the slick skin of the animal. A pang of remembrance shot through me as I recalled my human life, and for a fleeting moment, I was disgusted at the very act of sustaining myself. I viciously murdered and drained animals in order to satisfy the hunger, the thirst that burned within me, and for a fraction of a second, my actions repulsed me. Then the warm – but bland – blood poured into my mouth, and it catapulted me from rational thought as the feeding frenzy took over. Of course, other predatorily animals made for tastier snacks, but the safety I felt here couldn't be duplicated elsewhere, and therefore it was worth the gallons of tasteless, flavorless blood. It was like soda that had lost its carbonation - all that remained was the sickly sweet liquid without the punch. Regardless, I made quick work of my otter giving new meaning to the term fast food. Otters were larger than many of the other life forms in the open sea near my home, and I found them filling, but because of their dwindling numbers, I only indulged myself occasionally. A sea otter would last me at least three weeks even with my heightened senses, but those same heightened senses constantly fooled me into thinking I was thirsty even when I wasn't.

I gracefully broke the surface of the water, smiling and content with a full circulatory system of warm blood. I turned on to my back and lackadaisically back stroked enjoying the weightlessness of my body in the water and the gentle pull and sway of the ocean as it rocked me to its own musical rhythm. I let myself go to the power of the ocean and rejoiced in my temporary freedom. Feeling safe in my watery cocoon, I drifted off into my dream world, a place where my desires and reality amalgamated. Of course, upon closing my eyes, the first image that accosted me was the image that I would always see first in my mind's eye; the ever-fading image of Edward's glorious angelic face. His heart stopping crooked smile and the tender golden eyes that I loved best were what looked back at me. In my escapist dreams the love we had once shared burned his eyes into molten gold and the beaming radiance of his smile was enough to warm the eternal cold of my body.

I held onto my human memories of Edward with ferocious determination. They were all I had left of him. As each day passed, the memories of my human life waned and faded a little more, like the photographs in my grandmother's wedding album. With every sunrise, more of the moments I cherished from my previous life disappeared. The image of Edward's vivid beauty seemed to pale in my mind. The vibrant copper of his silky hair became a dull burnished bronze with each passing day. The planes of his face no longer angular and exact – he was fading and that frightened me. I had lost him once and I couldn't endure another betrayal, especially not by my own mind this time. I had vowed that I would never forget, that I couldn't forget, and yet he was gradually slipping through my fingers – again.

These withering images created an anxious restlessness in me. The desire to hang on to him, to never forget, was what drove me with steely determination to find Edward and the rest of the Cullen's – the only family I had left, the only true family I could have now – that is, if they would have me. The moment Edward had discarded me for his "distractions" I knew the only way I could keep up with him - show him that he didn't need those "distractions" - was if I was like him. Now I was. I had the ability to chase him around the planet – to do the things he wanted to do without the need for him to rescue me at every turn. Yet, two months after my change, here I was hiding away like a frightened child.

"Why can't I just go?" I wondered aloud.

I opened one eyelid and looked up at the cliff. I righted myself and treaded water as I saw the familiar russet shape perched at the precipice watching me with keen warm eyes. The same brown eyes that had held so much anguish and pain all those months ago. It was Jacob, my lone friend and confidant. I laughed as I realized what the dark piece of fabric caught in his muzzle was. I raised my hand in a half wave and then Jacob backed away out of sight. When I saw him again, he was in his relatively furless smooth brown skin and the only article of clothing that covered his otherwise nude figure was a pair of black swim shorts. He ran toward the edge of the cliff and leapt with a loud boisterous whoop. I watched as his large frame tumbled and somersaulted through the air before landing in the cool dark water with a splash.

He resurfaced and swam towards me grinning from ear to ear. I watched the muscles of his arms ripple and bulge as they propelled him in my direction. He was quick of course, his animal disposition helped in his human skin, but he would never be as quick as I was in my vampire body. I disappeared under the water and swam 200 yards out in the blink of an eye just as Jacob reached out for me. My head broke the surface and I shook my dark hair from my eyes, now a good distance away from where I had been just a moment ago. Jacob looked startled, as if he needed a moment to remind himself that I was indeed a vampire, and then his smile slowly broke into a grin just before he headed toward me again. Playing hard-to-get held a completely new meaning and I grinned back at Jacob, "Try again wolf-boy!"

We played like this for a while, Jacob chasing after me as I slowed my pace and waited only until he was a few feet away before I darted off again. I easily floated on my back feeling as if I had been relaxing by a pool somewhere tropical all day long. Jacob sighed deeply and seemed as if he'd had enough cat and mouse.

"What's wrong Jakey? You giving up already?" I teased.

"Bella please! I could do this all day!" He replied quickly.

"Well then I'll race you to the cliffs – on three. One. Two. Three." I exploded on my count and shot off like a dart in the direction of the cliffs. With ten yards left to go I looked to my left to see Jake moving exceptionally fast with strong powerful strokes of his arms. It was a good thing the area was secluded and no one was present to witness the unnatural strength and speed of my half-wolf friend, or mine for that matter. I leisurely backstroked the remaining distance and let Jake touch the rocky surface first.

"Thanks for letting me beat you at something," He smiled and rolled his eyes at me.

"Anytime Jake, anytime!" I laughed.

We both pulled ourselves up onto the rocky ledge just above the crashing surf. I let my feet dangle off the edge and dipped my toes into the water drawing Jake's name into the foamy sea. I looked over at Jake who was starring out at the water, a serious expression carved into the golden brown skin of his face.

"Okay, so just spit it out. I'd rather just hear this straight," I knew what was coming. Jake only took on this serious expression when the pack had a message from me. And although he was my friend, had protected me, and always would, he was the one to bring the uncomfortable messages from his wolf brothers. They always demanded and never asked; I understood their logic, but it hurt to be treated with so little respect –to them I was only a liability that needed to be guarded and watched very carefully. In essence, I was nothing more than a prisoner, someone who had to answer to those above her and live by their rules. Regardless of the deep friendship I had with Jacob and the camaraderie that had grown between the others and me, save for Paul, the pack upheld their duty to protect humans from monsters such as myself. It was the reason for the near constant supervision. The fact that most of them had come to accept me had nothing to do with whether they trusted me, because they didn't. What they knew of vampires was completely different from what I had learned of the Cullen's and what I had learned upon becoming one. They couldn't comprehend that a part of my humanity remained and that I could care; I could feel compassion for a human and would stop myself from murdering one. The few times I had hunted in the woods, the pack accompanied me, and although it was the pack who had made the stipulation, I welcomed the protection from myself that they provided because I was just as afraid, if not more, of what would happen if I was around a human in these early months as a vampire. I was thankful for the purpose of their presence, but things had not gone as planned on both occasion, and I was left with bitter memories and a few scars from where Paul's teeth had sliced into my otherwise granite skin.

No matter how much Jake loved and cared for me, a deep animosity existed between our two species –the anger and loathing subsisted at a cellular level – something that couldn't be easily put aside. Our kinds truly didn't belong together and it was something that I knew Jake fought intellectually. He couldn't always control his instinctual response and it was the one reason that we kept a certain distance from each other, even though I knew he wanted more, he wanted to get closer, but a part of him couldn't reconcile the turmoil he felt inside himself. Of course, it was something that we never talked about, but in his eyes, I saw the war that raged within him. His compassion for what I was as a human though allowed him to take a softer approach with me, and it was easier to hear the packs message from him.

"It's not what you think Bella. Well it's that too, but there's something else." He looked at me with an intensity that made my stomach somersault.

"Well what is it? Another supervised hunting party and what else?" The sarcasm that I tried to keep at bay surfaced as I remembered how Paul had let his disgust at what I was get the best of him, or more accurately – me. I cleared my throat hoping to relieve the unsettling feeling inside me.

"We think the red head is back."

My stomach dropped at his words and my mouth suddenly felt dry. The very thought of the wild fiery hair and the feral eyes sent shivers down my spine. Vampire or not, the memory of her frightened me. After my change, the pack had tried to hunt her but in the end, succeeded only in scaring her away. The last time they had seen her had been almost six weeks ago, our only guess being that because my scent was no longer present in the town, she had hopefully concluded that I was dead; of course, I should have realized my luck had never been that good.

**(AN: Some food for thought – where's Alice? Why hasn't she seen any of this? Does it have anything to do with Bella's gift? What **_**is**_** Bella's gift? I'll let you guys ponder those questions while I work on the next chapter and I promise all will be revealed soon!)**


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